The PickUp Line
by LilyLupin08
Summary: Set after Hogwarts. When the trio graduates, Harry and Hermione go their separate ways. Why? Will they ever be together?
1. Default Chapter

Okay, now this is the first fic I have ever even thought of publishing, so please be kind. Constructive criticism is appreciated, and I could use a little encouragement here, people. Thanks.  
  
The Pick-Up Line  
  
The cool October wind blew quietly through the trees and down the street, toward a man. This was not just an ordinary man, though to most anyone in his residential area of London, he was nobody special. Sure, the raven-haired male was nice, but no one worth talking about. However, in reality this man was most defiantly someone to talk about. His name was Harry Potter, and to most of the secret world he belonged to, he was their savior.  
The man in question walked purposefully down the street, running a nervous hand through his black hair and pushing his wire-rimmed glasses even further up his nose, toward his emerald-green eyes. Harry felt that he had very good reason to be nervous. Though he would never admit it, going out made him uncomfortable. Not that he ever had any problems finding a date. He was too well known for most people not to recognize, a fact that annoyed him greatly. That was why he had bought the small flat in London, because very few people in that neighborhood were likely to recognize him for who he was- The-Boy-Who-Lived. Harry had bought the small flat upon graduating from Hogwarts, declining Mrs. Weasley's offer of a room at the Burrow. The fact was, he liked being alone. Far more than he should have, in fact. It left him with time to think, something he seemed to do in abundance these days. His thoughts were always centered around the same subjects, for in between auror training, and life itself, it seemed he had neither the time nor the energy to think of much else. First, there was the ever-present thought of Voldemort. Though Harry had stood up to and defeated the dark wizard in his seventh year, almost three years ago, his memory refused to leave Harry alone. There were times when Harry felt lost, almost devoid of purpose. After all, this was the man who Harry had devoted most of his life to fighting, and now he was gone. Just like that, with a few words, Harry had saved the entire wizarding world. Perhaps the whole world.  
Second, there was the thought of not something, but someone. The someone to be exact. Harry would never admit it, but she dominated his thoughts far more than she ever should have, considering the fact that they were just friends. Just friends, Harry thought, snorting with the ridiculous notion that they could ever be more, causing an old woman to stare at him as he strolled ever more purposefully past her. Hermione, his own bushy haired best friend was the object of his affections. He had realized this years ago, with the sudden jolt of a person who has discovered something that was under their nose all along. The result of this discovery, however was not what Harry would have wanted. He realized that not only would being with her put her into far more danger than she was in already, but that he loved her far too much to risk making her a target. So when graduation came and left, Harry left also. He had seen Hermione only a few times since, and had dated far more women than he cared to count. He felt bad about it, and the fact that he always silently compared his dates and girlfriends to her, and they were always found to be wanting. In fact, Harry doubted he would ever find anyone as perfect as Hermione.  
Harry was currently just out of another unsuccessful relationship, and both Ron and Remus had taken it upon themselves to cheer Harry up. After the death of Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, Harry had been reluctant to let anyone new into his life in the same way, for fear of losing them. However, Remus had been both kind and patient with the grieving Harry, sympathizing whole-heartedly with the young man and his feelings. He now proved to be a wonderful friend and confidant, something Harry was seriously in need of, now that confiding in Hermione was no longer an option. The old werewolf was now thoroughly convinced that Harry should tell Hermione how he felt, which was one thing that Harry just could not agree with him on. Even now, when the threat of Voldemort no longer loomed overhead, Harry was still reluctant to express his feelings. Lately he had blamed it on their lack of contact, saying that one or both of them were most likely much too different now. Remus had openly scoffed at this idea, and Harry had to admit, it sounded a little odd, even to his own ears.  
Harry neared the pub where he had agreed to meet both the men, pausing to check his reflection in the window of the bar. He waked through the heavy door and into the dimly lit bar. Though it was relatively early, the establishment was already quite full, owing to the fact that it was both popular with the locals, and the few tourists that happened to find their way here. Harry looked around and saw a flaming head of hair, then looking more closely, his best friend Ron Weasley. Ron was waving him over to a small table near the back of the bar.  
"Hey mate", Ron said, patting Harry on the back when he finally reached the small table through the busy bar.  
"Hey", Harry responded. He gave Lupin a smile, which he returned, the corners of his mouth turning up and his amber eyes sparkling.  
"So, still pining over what's-her-name?", Remus asked, attempting to conceal his smile.  
"No, not really. Her name was Susie, which you ought to remember as you did meet her once or twice", Harry gave him an exasperated look. Remus seemed to have a habit of being overly dramatic sometimes, Harry supposed that it was one of those Marauder traits from his old school days at Hogwarts with Harry's father, James Potter, and Sirius Black. Remus just smiled in reply.  
"That's good", Ron said,"because tonight we are going to find you somebody worthy of the great Harry Potter!"  
Harry grunted his reply. Privately he felt that Ron might have started the night a little earlier that either one of the other two men, for his eyes were already slightly out of focus and he seemed to have a hard time getting his mug of beer to his mouth. After Hogwarts, Ron had become quite famous in his own right. Having neither the desire nor the grades to be an auror, he had instead decided to be a professional quidditch player. He was actually quite a good keeper, and the only one of them who had had more girlfriends than Harry, was Ron.  
"Yeah", said Harry," but Ron, you need to find yourself a girl. And I think that might take some time, so maybe we need to focus our efforts on you for a while."  
Ron gaped, sputtering. Remus all but roared with laughter, while Harry watched calmly, smiling slightly. Just then a waitress walked up and asked if they wanted anything. She was pretty, with blonde hair, and a fun-looking attitude.  
Ron gave both Harry and Remus a smug just-you-watch-this look, he said "yes, actually I do need something, would you touch me so that I could tell my friends I've been touched by an angel?" He said this all very calmly, as though he did this all the time, while Harry and Remus shook with suppressed laughter.  
The waitress gave Ron a surprised look, which quickly turned into one of disgust as she stalked away. "What, what did I say?" Ron looked completely bowled-over that he had just gotten blown off.  
"Oh my god, Ron you didn't actually expect that to work, did you?", Remus asked. He was shaking his head as he continued, "that line's right up there with 'if I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put U and I together', you know that, right?"  
Ron still looked like a fish out of water, and stated that yes, he had used that line once or twice. And Harry, to further prove their point, asked if it had worked. Ron seemed to think hard on this, before answering that no, it had not. He still had a somewhat puzzled expression on his face, as if the shock of getting turned down still had not worn off.  
"Okay Mr. Hot Shot", Ron said, "then let's see you get a girl."  
Harry looked around, and spotted a girl standing alone near the bar. She had long brown hair, and was pretty, without standing out in a way Harry found himself strongly attracted to. "Okay, fine." Walking towards her, Harry checked to see if she was really alone. It appeared so, and so with a last check to make sure that his bangs covered his infamous scar, Harry stepped up behind her and quickly tapped her on the back. She spun around, and Harry was vaguely reminded of someone, though for the life of him he couldn't say who.  
"Yes?", she asked politely. Harry had the feeling that he should have just stayed at his table, she was obviously out of his league. Now that he could see her face, he was even more impressed with her good looks. She had cinnamon-colored eyes and a pretty face. She held a martini in one hand, and a small purse in the other.  
Harry looked down to hide his extreme embarrassment. This never happened, he thought, why was he at a loss for words now? In desperation to say something, anything, he found himself blurting out one of the last things he remembered hearing, "if I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put U and I together." Harry gasped, and clapped a hand over his mouth, praying that he hadn't said what he thought he had just said. He had just finished lecturing Ron on the same subject. Harry heard a small giggle and looked up into those cinnamon eyes. Wait a second, he thought, I know that giggle. And those eyes, and that hair.  
As Harry looked up and met the woman's eyes, she gasped "Harry?" She looked shocked and surprised, though a far corner of Harry's mind noted that she did not look angry, in fact, if anything she looked pleased.  
"Oh, um, hi Hermione. I'll just...go, yeah", Harry started to make his way back to the table, but not before Hermione had caught his arm and spun him around. She looked hurt, and Harry was distressed to see that she looked to be on the verge of tears.  
"Harry, please. Stop. Why...why won't you talk to me anymore? Just please, come talk to me. We can leave, go and get a cup of coffee. Anything, just please talk to me. Unless you've been trying to tell me something all along...is that it? Do you not want to be around me anymore? Yes that's it, yes, I'll just leave you alone..." and with that she let go of him and walked toward the door.  
Harry wanted to scream. He couldn't hurt her like this, she looked so sad. More sad than he had seen her in a long time. A cup of coffee wouldn't hurt, would it? It's not like he was going to spill his heart out over a cup of coffee, he reasoned with himself. Making his decision, he walked out the door and looked around, pulling on his coat. She was already halfway down the street. He ran toward her shouting her name. Hermione stopped, but did not turn around. Catching up to her, he stopped so he was in front of her, and they were standing face to face. She had tears running down her face. Harry felt a strong desire to brush her tears away, but felt that that would probably be taking too much of a liberty, and he didn't want to make her angry.  
"Wait, please Hermione. I'm so sorry I haven't been around as much-"  
"As much? Try at all. Why?"  
"I...I guess I don't know. I'm sorry. I know it doesn't make up for it, but if you're still up for that cup of coffee..."  
"Of course. But, you will be paying you know. I'm not letting you off the hook that fast. And we have to talk, not just sit and avoid each other's eyes like we have been."  
"Done." Harry was pleased to notice that she had adopted a more bossy tone now, a sure sign that she was happier. "So, where are we going to get this cup of coffee?" Harry asked, wanting to make conversation.  
"Well, I don't know this area very well, I was looking for a flat in this area when I saw the pub, and decided to go in for a drink" Hermione said this all very fast, still looking at him like she thought he was going to realize who he was standing with and leave.  
"Okay then, I guess I know a place where we can go. It's near my apartment, so I go there often." Harry pointed down the street. "It's just a couple of blocks down and around the corner." He started walking, and she followed. "So, did you find a suitable flat?"  
"Um, no. Well, sort of.", she replied.  
"Sort of? How do you sort of find a flat?"  
"Well, I can't decide. I mean, it's such a big decision and I'm just afraid I'll screw up and...what?"  
Harry had been laughing at her, hoping she wouldn't notice. Apparently she had. "I don't know, you haven't changed much, you know. I'm glad." He smiled at her, and she positively beamed back at him.  
"Thank you, you have changed a bit though I think. Better, not worse though."  
Being this near to her was beginning to affect him. He had hoped that he hadn't said that last part out loud, being afraid that she would laugh at him. But he was glad he had, it seemed to make her happy. Harry stopped in front of a small café' and held the door open for her. They ordered their coffee and sat outside at a small table, chatting. The subject of school came up, and they talked about old times for a while.  
Harry was quite comfortable until Hermione said "you know, I was talking to Neville yesterday at work and he said that you had had a crush on someone at Hogwarts and he was quite surprised the two of you weren't together. I didn't know you liked anyone." She said this with a funny tone in her voice, one Harry had a hard time identifying. She almost sounded sad again. "Who was it?"  
Harry looked away, and making a split-second decision that he knew would change the rest of his life, Harry reached out and took her hand. "You."  
Harry heard her set the coffee cup down, but did not register the fact till she knealt in front of him. She forced him to look at her, and placed a gentle hand on his cheek. "You had no idea how much I wanted you to say that."She softly kissed him, and when she drew back they smiled at each other. "We need to work on your pick-up lines", she said.  
  
Good? Bad? Just plain ugly? Let me know. Please. 


	2. disclaimer

I realized that I had not put a disclaimer on my story, so here it is.  
  
This story contains characters that belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. They are in no way my own, I only own the plot. 


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